1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Ala

ALA (from Lat. ala, a wing), a word used technically by analogy with its meaning of “wing.” In physiology, it means any wing-like process, such as one of the lateral cartilages of the nose. In botany, one of the side petals of a papilionaceous corolla, &c. In architecture, a side apartment or recess of a Roman house (the origin of “aisle”).